EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban engineer who, as a young man in 2000, became involved in international custody and immigration controversies involving the governments of Cuba and the United States; his father, Juan Miguel GonzÃÆ'¡lez Quintana; other relatives in Cuba and in Miami, Florida; and the Cuban community in America.
GonzÃÆ'¡lez's mother, Elizabeth Brotons RodrÃÆ'guez, sank in November 1999 while trying to leave Cuba with GonzÃÆ'¡lez and her boyfriend to go to the United States. The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) originally placed GonzÃÆ'¡lez with a father's family in Miami, who tried to keep him in the United States against his father's demands that GonzÃÆ'¡lez be returned to Cuba.
A United States district court ruling from the Southern District of Florida that only GonzÃÆ'¡lez's father, and not his larger relative, can apply for asylum on behalf of the boy was upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. After the US Supreme Court refused to listen to the case, on the orders of US Attorney General Janet Reno, a federal agent took González from his father's family and returned it to his father in Cuba in June 2000.
Video Elián González
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Many Cubans have fled Cuba to the United States since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. This emigration is illegal under Cuban and US laws; for example, any Cuban person found at sea who seeks to reach US shores may be deported by the United States or captured by Cuban authorities.
At that time, US policy had evolved into the so-called "wet foot, dry feet" rule. If a Cuban is taken at sea or walks to the beach, they are discharged unless they can claim an asylum. If they succeed to the coast (or enter through Mexico) before meeting with US authorities, they are generally allowed to remain in the country.
Maps Elián González
Early life, trip to US and custody war
EliÃÆ'¡n Gonzálele was born on December 6, 1993 from divorced parents. On November 21, 1999, González, his mother Elizabeth Brotons RodrÃguez, and twelve others left Cuba with a small aluminum vessel with a broken machine; Mrs. GonzÃÆ'¡lez and the other ten died at the junction. González and two other survivors floated in the sea until they were rescued by two fishermen, who handed them over to the U.S. Coast Guard.
GonzÃÆ'¡lez's cousin Marisleysis said González said his bike had been damaged on board and its passengers had tried in vain to save water with nylon bags, but a storm hit their efforts. She tells him that she's trying to help her out and her mother's girlfriend puts her inside the inner tube for safety. "He said afterwards that he fell asleep and when he woke up he never saw his mother again". He said, "I think he also drowned because he did not know how to swim".
Nivaldo FernÃÆ'¡ndez Ferran, one of three survivors on board, said "Elizabeth is protecting her son to the end". According to Ferran, they begin their journey at 4 am, dragging rubber floating corks, or deep tires, if they need it. When they face bad weather, the ship's engine fails and the aircraft begins to fill with water. After it sinks, the passengers attach to the inner tubes of cold water, with waves reaching a height of three to four meters (10 to 13 feet).
After that, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) freed González to his father's uncle, Lázaro. According to Washington Post , GonzÃÆ'¡lez's father, Juan Miguel GonzÃÆ'¡lez Quintana, had telephoned LÃÆ'¡zaro from Cuba on 22 November 1999, to tell González and his mother had left Cuba. without Juan Miguel's knowledge, and to keep an eye on their arrival.
LÃÆ'¡zaro GonzÃÆ'¡lez, backed by local American Cubans, takes the position that the child must remain in the United States and not be returned to his father. Marisleysis GonzÃÆ'¡lez (adult daughter LÃÆ'¡zaro) becomes the administrator and spokesperson of EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez for the father's family. Also, Armando Gutierrez, a local Cuban businessman in America, became a spokesperson. At the same time, Juan Miguel, with the support of Cuban authorities, demanded that his son be returned to Cuba.
On January 21, 2000, EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez's grandmothers Mariela Quintana and Raquel RodrÃÆ'guez, flew from Havana to the United States to find their grandchildren back to Cuba. While they can meet the boy just once at Miami Beach's home from Barry University President Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, they travel to Washington and meet with Congressman and Attorney General Janet Reno. After nine days of media coverage (where Republican lawmakers acknowledged that they did not have a vote to pass the bill to give González US citizenship), they returned to Cuba for "a hero's welcome".
On January 28, Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes called for the return of the boy to Cuba, stating that international law dictates its return. Meanwhile, Gonzáleze Miami denied allegations that they had offered Juan Miguel a house and car if he left the action and joined his son in Miami. Juan Miguel is not interested in emigrating.
Throughout January and February, Juan Miguel sent a number of open letters to the US Government - published in, among other places, the Cuban newspaper Granma - demanding the return of his son and dismissing Miami's kinsmen 'demands.
The Chicago-based father's rights lawyer Jeffery M. Leving spearheaded the amicus brief, which sets the basis of a prisoner case to reunite GonzÃÆ'¡lez with his father in Cuba. Manuel GonzÃÆ'¡lez, Uncle Eliçon Gonzalez, then defends Leving to unite GonzÃÆ'¡lez with his father.
On March 21, Justice Kevin Michael Moore of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida rejected a family appeal for asylum they had filed on behalf of EliÃÆ'¡n González. LÃÆ'¡zaro vowed to appeal. On March 29, Waldo City Miami-Dade, Alex Penelas, joined 22 other civil leaders in a speech in downtown Miami. The warden indicates that the municipality will not cooperate with Federal authorities on any repatriation of boys, and will not lend police assets or other assistance in taking the child.
On April 14th, a video was released where EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez told Juan Miguel that he wanted to live in the United States. However, many think that he has been trained, because a male voice is heard outside the camera directing the boy. In a September 2005 interview with <60 Minutes after being sent back to Cuba, González stated that during his stay in the US, his family members "said bad things about [my father]", and "also told me to tell him that I do not want to go back to Cuba, and I always tell them I want to. "
EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez remained the subject of media attention when he went to Walt Disney World Resort one day, then met the next politician. Throughout the custody battle, opinion polls show that the majority of Americans believe GonzÃÆ'¡lez should be returned to his father in Cuba, and that doing so is in the child's best interest. On April 19, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that González should remain in the US until Miami GonzÃÆ'¡lezes could appeal for an asylum trial in May.
Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the return of EliÃÆ'¡n González to his father and set a deadline of April 13, 2000, but Miami's relatives opposed the order. Negotiations continued for several days because the house was surrounded by protesters and also police. The relatives insist on the assurance that they can live with the child for several months and retain custody, and that Gonzale will not be returned to Cuba. Negotiations were made throughout the night, but Reno claimed that the family rejected all applicable solutions.
A Florida court judge withdrew custody while LÃÆ'¡zaro cleared the way for GonzÃÆ'¡lez to be returned to his father's custody. On April 20, Reno made the decision to remove González from home and ordered law enforcement officials to determine the best time to get the boy. After being notified of the decision, Marisleysis told the Justice Department's public relations officer, "Do you think we only have cameras at home? If people try to get in, they can get hurt."
In the early hours of Easter morning, April 22, BORTAC special agents of Border Patrol as part of an operation where more than 130 INS personnel participated near the house, knocked on doors, and identified themselves. When no one answers, they enter. At the same time, pepper spray and sparks are used against people outside who try to interfere. In confusion, Armando Gutierrez summoned Alan Diaz, Associated Press, to enter the house and enter the room with GonzÃÆ'¡lez, the wife of his uncle, Angela LÃÆ'¡zaro, his nephew, the young son of his nephew, and Donato Dalrymple (one of two men who had saved him from oceans). They waited in the room listening to the agents looking for the house. Diaz took a widely publicized photo of the border patrol agent that faced Dalrymple and the boy.
The INS also stated in the days after the attack that they had identified as many as two dozen people "prepared to thwart any government operation", some of which hide guns while others have criminal records.
About 100 people protested against the attack, with some calling INS "killer" agents.
Public opinion about INS attacks at home Miami GonzÃÆ'¡lez is widely polarized. There are two main focuses in media coverage of the event: assault and family reunions. The magazine issue Time shows a glad González photo reunited with his father (the title says "Papa!"), While Newsweek ran a problem focusing on the attack, entitled "Seize EliÃÆ'¡n ".
Go back to father prison
Four hours after he was taken from home in Miami, GonzÃÆ'¡lez and his father reunited at Andrews Air Force Base. The next day, the White House released a photo showing GonzÃÆ'¡lez who smiled reunited with his father, whose Miami relatives debated by claiming that it was a fake GonzÃÆ'¡lez in the photo. Later, GonzÃÆ'¡lez and his family were taken to the Aspen Institute's Wye River Conference Center (formerly known as "Wye Plantation"). Media is prohibited from accessing the family.
While the family is still at Andrews, New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith, escorting the González Miami family, was removed from the base by the guards. The May 5, 2000, the Miami Herald reported that GonzÃÆ'¡lez joined his classmates (without their parents) and his teacher from his hometown, CÃÆ'¡rdenas. Granma released EliÃÆ'¡n's photo in Young Youth uniform of the Cuban Communist Youth League. On May 6, 2000, lawyer Greg Craig invites González and Juan Miguel to dine at Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, D.C., organized by Smith and Elizabeth Bagley.
After GonzÃÆ'¡lez was returned to his father's custody, he remained in the US while his Miami relatives ran out of legal options. A panel of three federal judges has ruled that he can not return to Cuba until he is granted asylum, but the case alters the right of the family to request a trial on behalf of the boy. On June 1, 2000, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that EliÃÆ'¡n was too young to file asylum; only his father can speak for him, and his relatives have no legal standing. On June 28, 2000, the US Supreme Court refused to review the decision. Later on the same day, EliÃÆ'¡n González and his family returned to Cuba.
Return to Cuba
Upon his return, EliÃÆ'¡n González lives with his father, stepmother, and three brothers in CÃÆ'¡rdenas, where his father, Juan Miguel, is a waitress at an Italian restaurant in Josone Park, near Cardenas. EliÃÆ'¡n's father was interviewed at a restaurant in 2004 by Keith Morrison of the NBC News program Dateline NBC and Cover to Cover on CNBC. Juan Miguel filmed a home video where GonzÃÆ'¡lez was shown doing his arithmetic homework with Juan Miguel in their dining room, going to bed in his bedroom with two younger step brothers and attending karate lessons.
The Morrison TV report also shows an 18th-century building in CÃÆ'¡rdenas previously used as a fire station and which was renovated and inaugurated on July 14, 2001, as a museum, called the Museo de la Batalla de Ideas . i> ("Museum of Ideal Battle"), which includes an exhibition hall dedicated to GonzÃÆ'¡lez, which houses a bronze statue the size of GonzÃÆ'¡lez that raises a fist. González's former home in Miami has also been transformed into a museum, with the boy's bedroom unchanged. Juan Miguel is also a member of the National Assembly and has attended events for the Cuban Communist Party with GonzÃÆ'¡lez, who has been summoned to the stage to meet Fidel Castro. Castro also attended González's birthday party recorded with his school friends.
In September 2005, GonzÃÆ'¡lez was interviewed by <60 Minutes and declared during the interview that Fidel Castro was a friend, and that he considered Castro "not just a friend but as a father"; Aunt GonzÃÆ'¡lez, Angela GonzÃÆ'¡lez, said she doubted whether the interview represented her true beliefs because of the controls imposed by Cuba on information. In December 2006, a sick Fidel Castro was unable to attend the celebration of González's 13th birthday, so his brother RaÃÆ'ºle was present instead.
On August 16, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the overwhelming power lawsuits filed by Dalrymple and others against the Federal Government and Reno.
GonzÃÆ'¡lez joined the Young Communist Union of Cuba in June 2008 shortly after graduating from junior high school. At the age of 15, he started military school. In his November 2013 speech, GonzÃÆ'¡lez described his time in the United States as "a very sad time for me, which marked me for the rest of my life", asserting that the Cuban Adjustment Act caused the denial of his rights, including "the right to along with my father, the right to maintain my citizenship and stay within my cultural context ".
Ramifications
Commentators have suggested that EliÃÆ'¡n González's affairs may be a factor in voter decisions in the 2000 US presidential election, which could affect the final outcome in Florida. The handling of Al Gore on this issue may have angered the Republican majority of Cubans over the boy's return to Cuba. Gore initially supported Republican legislation to grant permanent residence status for his son and father, but later supported the governmental position. He was attacked by both sides in a dispute because of his vague position.
Next year
In 2015, GonzÃÆ'¡lez learns to become an industrial engineer, and hopes to marry a high school lover and fiancée, Ilianet EscaÃÆ'Â ± o, after finishing college. He stated that although he did not regret returning to Cuba, he wanted to travel to the United States one day "to give my love to the American people". In July 2016, he received a degree in industrial engineering from Matanzas University, and read a letter to Fidel Castro from his graduation class, vowing "to fight from any ditch demanded by the revolution".
After graduating in 2016, GonzÃÆ'¡lez began work as a technology specialist at a state-run company that makes large plastic water tanks.
Documentary
EliÃÆ'¡n is a 2017 documentary film directed by Ross McDonnell and Tim Golden, produced by Trevor Birney and executives produced by Alex Gibney. The film details the story of Cuban youngster EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez and features an exclusive interview with EliÃÆ'¡n and his family in Cuba and Miami. The film is produced jointly by Fine Point Films and Jigsaw Productions and features a voiceover by Raul Esparza. The film premiered on April 19, 2017, at the Tribeca Film Festival. It opened in a limited release in May, and appeared on CNN Films in August 2017.
See also
- Cuban exile
- Cuba - United States Relations
- Operation Peter Pan (1960-1962)
- Parental rights
- Yossele Schumacher, a similar affair
- Polovchak v. Meese , previous child asylum cases (1980-1985), seen by some as a precedent
Footnote
Further reading
- Allatson, Paul, and Molina Guzman, Isabel. "The EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez Discursive Template: Mediating Children in Various Conflict Circles", Journal of Children and Media 2.3 (September 2008): 248-63.
- de la Cova, Antonio Rafael. "The Case of Elian Gonzalez: The Most Watched and Politically Defended Battle of the World Reaching the US Supreme Court and Determining the Presidential Election", Harvard Latino Law Review , Vol. 18, Spring 2015, pp.Ã, 501-49.
- De La Torre, Miguel A., "La Lucha for Cuba: Religion and Politics on the Streets of Miami", University of California Press, 2003.
External links
- Brief History of Elian Gonzalez Affair - by magazine Time
- (in Spanish) Cuban official site: about custody bouts for Elià ¢ n
- "Year In Pictures: Elian Gonzalez". Time. 2000. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007 . Retrieved 2007-06-18 . Ã,
- GarcÃÆ'a MÃÆ'¡rquez, Gabriel (2000-03-29). "EliÃÆ'¡n: Shipwrecked On Dry Land". Juventud Rebelde . Archived from original on 2013/06/17
- Morrison, Keith (2004-08-01). "Finding Elian". Dateline NBC . MSNBC Ã,
- Gibbs, Stephen (2005-04-22). "What happened to Elian Gonzalez?". BBC
- BORTAC: tame hot spots, CBP Today - May 2004 article on the Border of Border Border Program of the USA
- EliÃÆ'¡n GonzÃÆ'¡lez and Cuban Crisis: 10 years later articles by The Guardian
- EliÃÆ'¡n: What Have We Learned?
- EliÃÆ'¡n, thanks to Fidel Castro [1]
Source of the article : Wikipedia